Rule 11: Publication of Opinions Where No Application for Permission to Appeal to the Tennessee Supreme Court Is Filed

Rule 11. Publication of Opinions Where No Application for Permission to Appeal to the Tennessee Supreme Court Is Filed.

(a) Opinions of this Court, including abridgements thereof, from which no application for permission to appeal to the Tennessee Supreme Court has been filed, shall be published only with the approval of this Court as provided for herein.

(b) An opinion of this Court from which no application for permission to appeal to the Tennessee Supreme Court has been filed shall be published only if, in the determination of the members of this Court, it meets one or more of the following criteria:

(1) The opinion establishes a new rule of law or alters or modifies an existing rule or applies an existing rule to a set of facts significantly different from those stated in other published opinions;

(2) The opinion involves a legal issue of continuing public interest;

(3) The opinion criticizes, with reasons given, an existing rule of law;

(4) The opinion resolves an apparent conflict of authority;

(5) The opinion updates, clarifies or distinguishes a principle of law; or

(6) The opinion makes a significant contribution to legal literature by reviewing either the development of a common law rule or the legislative or judicial history of a provision of a constitution, statute, or other written law.

(c)

(1) An opinion of this Court, or an abridgement thereof, from which no application for permission to appeal to the Tennessee Supreme Court has been filed may be submitted to this Court for consideration for publication only after the expiration of the period of time permitted by the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure to apply to the Tennessee Supreme Court for permission to appeal. Along with the opinion, the author shall state the reasons why the publication of the opinion is appropriate.

(2) If within thirty (30) days of the date an opinion has been submitted to all members of this Court, seven (7) members have approved publication of the opinion, the presiding judge shall notify the author of the opinion in writing that the opinion may be published.

(3) Approvals or objections to the publication of an opinion shall be made in writing and shall be sent to the presiding judge within thirty (30) days after the opinion has been submitted to the members of this Court. Where no written response is received from a member of this Court within thirty (30) days, the lack of response shall be treated as an affirmative vote for publication. The presiding judge shall, upon request, share the substance of the responses with the author of the opinion.

(d) Any judge of this Court may make minor editorial changes in an opinion authored by that judge once the opinion has been filed. These changes may include corrections in spelling, punctuation, or syntax. However, any abridgement that significantly alters the sense or emphasis of an already filed opinion shall be submitted to this Court prior to publication.

(e) In cases wherein concurring or dissenting opinions have been filed, the author of the concurring or dissenting opinion shall determine whether the concurring or dissenting opinion should be published with the majority opinion or whether only the position of the concurring or dissenting judge should be noted.